This study addresses the geographical diffusion of modern sports mega-events (SMEs) over the past century from the perspective of globalisation. A representative sample of SMEs organised between 1891 and 2010 (n=927) was selected on five inclusion criteria. In order to process and visualise the global diffusion of the observed events, six macro-geographical regions were distinguished. A more detailed view on the global diffusion of SMEs over time was obtained by placing the focus on the global diffusion of host cities.
It appears that early globalisation patterns of SMEs have been developing towards a global phenomenon since the second half of the 20th century. SMEs have contributed to the global development of other fields such as talent migration, global sports media coverage and finance flows, and can therefore be considered as agents of globalisation. Because SMEs can be seen as the result of local interests and the decision-making by global power networks in sport, it is argued that the observed global diffusion of SMEs, as an exponent of global physical culture, is an increasing subject of global biopolitical endeavour.